Category Archives: teaching

The Foundations of Understanding

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Matthew Phillips

“Tender years should first be instructed in rules of the art or grammar, in analogies, in barbarisms, in solecisms, in tropes and schemata.  These are the studies on which Donatus, Servius, Priscian, Isidore, Bede, and Cassiodorus expounded with much diligence, … Continue reading →

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Augustine on the Use of Symbols

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Matthew Phillips

“But, all those truths which are presented to us in figures tend, in some manner, to nourish and arouse that flame of love by the impulse of which we are carried upward and inward toward rest, and they stir and … Continue reading →

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Proper Digestion

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Matthew Phillips

“In the process of learning, the very thing that ought to be a great help, namely, a great desire to learn, often becomes for many people an impediment.  They want to take in everything at the same time, and are … Continue reading →

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John of Salisbury on the Liberal Arts

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Matthew Phillips

“While there are many sorts of arts, the first to proffer their services to the natural abilities of those who philosophize are the liberal arts.  All of the latter are included in the courses of the Trivium and Quadrivium.  The … Continue reading →

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Cassiodorus on Returning to Books

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Matthew Phillips

“For learning taken from the ancients in the midst of praising the Lord is not considered tasteless boasting. Furthermore, you make a serious teacher angry if you question him often; but however often you want to return to these books, … Continue reading →

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An Exhortation to Learning

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Matthew Phillips

“So learn as though you were to live forever. So live as though you were about to die tomorrow…..Seneca says, ‘Life without letters is death and the tomb of the living man’…and elsewhere: ‘I would rather learn from others with … Continue reading →

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Boethius on Good Fortune

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Matthew Phillips

“What I want to tell you is something wonderful, which makes it very difficult for me to put it into words.  For I think that ill fortune is better for men than good.  Fortune always cheats when she seems to … Continue reading →

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Augustine on Learning and the Human Teacher

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Matthew Phillips

“My argument is with Christians who congratulate themselves on a knowledge of the holy scriptures gained without any human guidance and who–if their claim is valid–thus enjoy a real and substantial blessing.  But they must admit that each one of … Continue reading →

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Martin Luther on Studying Theology and Reading Scripture

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Matthew Phillips

“Moreover, I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology, for I have had practice in that.  If you keep to it, you will become so learned that you yourself could (if it were necessary) write … Continue reading →

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Erasmus on Teachings of Christ, Plato, and the Prince

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Matthew Phillips

“Before all else the story of Christ must be firmly rooted in the mind of the prince.  He should drink deeply of His teachings, gathered in handy texts, and then later from those very fountains themselves, whence he may drink … Continue reading →

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